Massachusetts lawmakers have voted to pass privacy protections that grant residents new rights over accessing and deleting their data held by big tech companies. The bill also bans companies from selling users’ precise location data.
The Massachusetts House passed the Consumer Data Privacy Act in a unanimous 146-0 vote on Thursday, following the Senate’s earlier 40-0 approval in September. The bills will now be combined and sent to the governor’s office for signature into law.
The move puts Massachusetts on track to join a growing list of states creating their own privacy rules in the absence of federal legislation. While major democracies worldwide have comprehensive privacy laws, the United States relies on a patchwork of state-level protections rather than nationwide standards.
The timing is particularly significant given recent policy shifts at the federal level. The Biden administration had worked toward banning the sale of Americans’ sensitive data nationally, but the Trump administration has since abandoned those efforts. This makes state-level action increasingly important for protecting consumer privacy rights.
The bill targets companies that handle personal data from more than 100,000 consumers, affecting both medium-sized startups and Silicon Valley giants. It blocks sharing or selling sensitive information without explicit user consent, including:
- Biometric data like health information, genetics, and fingerprints
- Precise location data
- Information about religion, immigration status, and sexual orientation
The location data provision addresses a major privacy concern that has persisted for years. Data brokers routinely purchase location information from app developers and resell it to buyers including stalkers, governments, and military organizations. The government often argues it doesn’t need warrants to purchase commercially available data.
By applying the location ban to both residents and visitors, Massachusetts will effectively prohibit location data sales throughout the state. This broad approach will impact startups that collect and sell location data as well as advertising companies that use location targeting.
State lawmakers worked across party lines on the legislation, viewing privacy as a fundamental right for Massachusetts residents, according to local outlets WBUR and the Lynn Journal.
Privacy advocates praised the bill’s passage. Evan Greer, director of Fight for the Future, said Massachusetts “took a major step toward cracking down on Big Tech’s surveillance abuses.” The ACLU called it a landmark bill that positions the state as a “leader in protecting personal privacy and curbing digital surveillance.”
The legislation reflects growing momentum for state-level privacy protections as consumers become more aware of how their personal data is collected and monetized. With federal privacy legislation stalled, states continue filling the regulatory gap with increasingly comprehensive rules.